International Journal of English, Literature and Social Sciences (IJELS) Vol-4, Issue-6, Nov – Dec 2019

https://dx.doi.org/10.22161/ijels.46.53 ISSN: 2456-7620

Incorporation with verb deletion in Toba

Bataknese Language
Faido Simanjuntak1, Mulyadi2
1Permanent Lecturer of The Methodist University of Indonesia Medan, University of Sumatera Utara Linguistics Doctoral Student
2Permanent lecturer of Postgraduate Department of Lingustics, Faculty of Cultural Sciences, University of Sumatera Utara, Medan,
Indonesia

Abstract— Incorporation in the Toba Bataknese language occurs due to changes of verb position which results in
deletion of verb. The theory used to analyze this incorporation of verb deletion is one presented by Fillmore (1988)
referring to Jehane's. Meanwhile, the method used in this study is based on Labov’s. According to Labov, the data of
linguistic research are obtained from text, elicitation, intuition, experiment, and observation. Von Humboldt states
that the term incorporation is the unification of lexical morphemes and words. The result of this analysis indicates
that the incorporation in Toba Bataknese occurs typologically rather than polysynthetically. The forms or types of
incorporation in this language are apparently quite broad, varied and applied clearly without changing the meaning
of each incorporation. One of the incorporation forms or types results in incorporation with verb deletion. The kinds
of incorporation with verb deletion based on the cases are objective, instrumental, locative, translative, and state
incorporations. The incorporation process of verb deletion happens because the incorporating case changes its
function. The case is verbalized by verb affix, and then the incorporation process causes changes in syntactic valence
and construction.
Keywords— Incorporation, typology, polysynthesis, syntactic construction, Toba Bataknese language.

I. INTRODUCTION grammatical meanings, and both forms can be used

Toba Bataknese is rich in very interesting word
forms to study, especially in the case of incorporation with
its verb deletion. Some examples of the verb forms are:
marujung-head to, marbaju-wear shirt, marsalawar-wear
pants, manderes-scrape, manggule-give, and markareta-
ride a motorcycle.
These verb forms, according to linguists, are the
result of verbalization in which the verb-forming affixes:
mar, man, and mang are added to the noun roots. It also
results from the derivation of nouns into verbs or
denominalisation with the formation processes of mar +
root, man + root, and mang + root. Semantically the
meanings of the affixes in these forms are explained as
follows:
mar in marujung head to ......
mar in marbaju wear shirt .........
man in manderes scrape .......
mang in menggule give .....
mar in markareta ride/have motorcycle
Our question is, why does verbalization or
denominalization occur in these forms? This paper
analyzes the above verb types or forms to elaborate the
proof that this kind of case is an incorporation process.
What's wrong with incorporation? In fact, the forms above
can still be returned to the original forms with similar
interchangeably.
a) Na markareta na jeges i itoku. (The one with the good
motorcycle is my younger brother)
b) Na mamake kareta na jeges i itoku (The one who is
riding the motorcycle is my younger brother)
After experiencing verbalization to replace the
verb position, the initial verb is consequently released.
These kinds of forms are quite productive in Toba
Bataknese, so they are worth studying more deeply and
richly.
One problem that arises from the background
above is what cases can be incorporated into verbs. The
scope of this study is limited to incorporation with verb
deletion in Toba Bataknese. It really needs to be
emphasized because in Toba Bataknese there are still other
forms of incorporation, such as agent incorporation, object
incorporation, preposition incorporation, and so on.
Therefore, the purpose of this study is not only to find
cases of incorporation, but also to examine the process of
incorporation with Toba Bataknese verb deletion.
Research on incorporation have been widely done , among
others, Deli Kusuma (2014) researching incorporation with
Mandailing verb deletion and Mulyono (2013) studying
the symptoms of incorporation in the language of print
media. In this study the author discusses incorporation

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International Journal of English, Literature and Social Sciences (IJELS)
https://dx.doi.org/10.22161/ijels.46.53
with Toba Bataknese verb deletion. The purposes of this
study are to find and explain the formation and use of
incorporation forms or types in Toba Bataknese language.
1.1 The Problem of the Research
This research problem is formulated to find and explain
the forms or types of incorporation with verb deletion in
Toba Bataknese simple sentences found in a collection of
folk tales 'Torsatorsa Hombung'.
1.2 The Objective of the Research
This study aims to find and explain the forms or types of
incorporation with verb deletion in Toba Bataknese simple
sentences found in a collection of folk tales 'Torsatorsa
Hombung'.
II. THEORETICAL REVIEW
2.1 Definition of Incorporation
The term incorporation comes from the English
incorporation. The use of the term incorporation in
linguistics at first related to the division of language
typology into isolative, agglutinative, flexi, and
incorporative language (Keraf, 1990: 62) or isolating,
agglutinating, (in)flectional, and polysynthetic (Spencer,
1993: 38). Keraf said that incorporative was then equalized
to the term polysynthesis interchangeably: incorporative
language or polysynthetic language. The concept of
incorporation developed into a concept of sentence
structure in which one of the arguments joins the verb so
that it is called as noun incorporation, object incorporation,
or just incorporation.
Baker (1987: 9) states that generally the process
of changing grammatical functions is a transfer of a lexical
category from a position in a sentence to a new position,
and one of the lexicons will be inside the other one
realized by a certain morpheme. The incorporation process
changes the governmental relationship between the
predicate and its argument.
Kridalaksana (1992: 153) uses the term argument
linking to refer to the same meaning as noun incorporation.
Argument linking is the fusing of an argument into a
predicator so that a new predicator is formed. For example,
(a) 'Kakak memiliki rambut panjang’ and (b) ‘Kakak
berambut panjang'. In sentence (a), the argument of long
hair is linked with the verb has. Next, affixation and
incorporation of lexemes take place as well in Toba
Bataknese language. Parera (1993: 133) says incorporation
is the integration of a case into a verbum or the
presentation of a case morphologically without bringing
about semantic differences. Or in other words, a verbum is
derived from a case morphologically. An example is
quoted from Hendrikus Jehane.
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Vol-4, Issue-6, Nov – Dec 2019
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a. Opat panangko na mamake tutup ulu pake sinjato
piso.
b. Opat panangko na mamake tutup ulu marsinjato
piso.
The form of incorporation as in the example
above is called ‘verbum’ (verb) incorporation by Parera.
He does not explain why he uses a term like 'noun
incorporation' as used by linguists in general. It is certainly
not a mistake if we study that further. The term verb
incorporation, if we translate it into English, becomes
‘incorporated verb’ not ‘verb incorporation’. Thus, Parera
places emphasis on the verb resulting from incorporation
rather than on the noun that was incorporated. When we
connect the two terms, we find the common thread, i.e. the
noun essentialy refers to the same thing although the
emphasis is different.
The so-called 'incorporation with the verb ellipsis'
is similar to the so-called verbum (verb incorporation)
proposed by Parera. The incorporation with verb ellipsis
intended in this study is a form of incorporation that occurs
because one of the cases incorporates into a verb, then the
case replaces the verb position after the verbalization
resulting in ellipsis of the initial verb.
2.2 Types of Incorporation Processes
In term of cross languages there are 3 types of
incorporation process, namely prepositional, nominal and
verbal incorporations.
Example:
1. a. Kalau Tante Sri mengizinkan, aku akan segera ke
rumahmu.
b. Kalau Tante Sri memberi izin, aku akan segera ke
rumahmu.
Verb mengizinkan in sentence (a) means giving
permission, the same as in sentence (b), and this process is
verbal-nominal incorporation. When viewed from the
realization, this merger shows that the meaning of the verb
"memberi" is realized in the suffix [-kan] and the noun
becomes the core of the derived verb.
Moreover, Jehane (1996: 66-67) explained that in
Indonesian there are 6 types of verbal incorporation
processes. Jehane’s cases of incorporation with verb
deletion were: objective, instrumental, locative, fictitious,
translative, and state incorporation.
III. THE METHOD OF THE RESEARCH
The methods used in this study are in the forms of
data collection and data analysis methods. Kridalaksana
(1988: 33) quoted Labov's opinion saying that in current
linguistic research investigators obtain language data from
text, elicitation, intuition, experiment, and observation.
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International Journal of English, Literature and Social Sciences (IJELS)
https://dx.doi.org/10.22161/ijels.46.53
3.1 Data Source
The data source of this research is a written
source in the form of fiction obtained from a collection of
folk tales 'Torsatorsa Hombung' or abbreviated as TTH.
3.2 Data Analysis
As Toba Bataknese speakers, observation, free
listening-speaking and listening-speaking techniques are
used to determine the acceptability of a structure, and to
capture the data related to this research, namely the use of
the Toba Bataknese incorporation forms. In addition, the
data are analyzed by using sorting or splitting techniques.
The researcher as a Toba Bataknese native speaker also
uses intuitive data that come from the researcher's own
knowledge. At the data assessment stage, matching and
sharing methods are used. The matching method used is
based on the language referent itself, especially in terms of
determining the equation of the incorporated cases.
Furthermore, how the incorporation takes place is
analyzed. The following sentence is a form of
incorporation with deletion of verb in Toba Bataknese. (1)
Boru-boruna marbajunarara i anggiku. (The woman in red
is my sister.) (2) Boru-boru namamakke bajunarara i
anggiku. (The woman wearing the red shirt is my sister.)
The verb 'marbaju' in Toba Bataknese or berbaju in
Indonesian in sentence (1) means mamakke baju in Toba
Bataknese or memakai baju in Indonesian as in sentence
(2), and this process is a verbal-nominal incorporation
process.
IV. RESEARCH RESULTS
4.1 Incorporation with Verb Deletion in Toba
Bataknese
4.1.1 Objective Incorporation
In this type of incorporation, the incorporating
case is verbalized, and it replaces the verb position. The
initial verb is eliminated.
Example:
1. (a) Najolo, di Rura Silindung maringanan do sada
raja nampuna goar Punsahang Mataniari
Punsahang Mataji bulan. (Long time ago, in Rura
Silindung, there lived a king who had the name
Punsahang Mataniari Punsahang Mataji bulan.
(THH: 13)
(b) Najolo, di Rura Silindung maringanan do sada
raja namargoar Punsahang Mataniari Punsahang
Mataji bulan. (Long time ago, in Rura Silindung,
there lived a king named Punsahang Mataniari
Punsahang Mataji bulan. (THH: 13)
The verb 'namargoar' in Toba Bataknese or
'bernama' in Indonesian in sentence (b) implies 'nampuna
goar' in Toba Bataknese or 'memiliki nama' in Indonesian
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Vol-4, Issue-6, Nov – Dec 2019
ISSN: 2456-7620
as in sentence (a), and this process is an objective
incorporation process.
4.1.2 Instrumental Incorporation
In this incorporation type, the instrumental case
undergoes the verbalization to replace the verb position,
while the initial verb is eliminated.
Example:
1. (a) Di sada tingki mangulahon gondang ma raja i
tu angka pidong na adong di inganan i. (One day,
the king conducted drumming for the birds in his
place.) (THH: 25)
(b) Di sada tingki margondang ma raja i tu angka
pidong na adong di inganan i. (One day, the king
was drumming for the birds in his place.) (THH:
25)
The verb 'margondang' in Toba Bataknese or
'bergendang' in Indonesian in sentence (b) implies
'mangulahon gondang' in Toba Bataknese or
'melaksanakan gendang' in Indonesian as in sentence (a),
and this process is an instrumental incorporation.
4.1.3 Locative incorporation
In this type of incorporation, the locative case
which has undergone verbalization replaces the position of
the verb, while the initial verb is eliminated.
Example:
1. (a) Di sada tingki, laho ma ibana masuk tuhuta
sian hutana i. (At one time, he left to enter a
village from his place.) (THH: 32)
(b) Di sada tingki, laho ma ibana marhuta sian
hutana i. (At one time, he left for villaging from
his place.) (THH: 32)
The verb 'marhuta' in Toba Bataknese or 'berdesa'
in Indonesian in sentence (b) implies 'masuk tu huta' in
Toba Bataknese or 'masuk ke desa' in Indonesian as in
sentence (a), and this is locative incorporation process.
4.1.4 Translative Incorporation
The translative case is a case that marks the
meaning of change in noun or the like. For example
metmet (small) gabe marmetmet (to become smaller or
diminished). Translative incorporation occurs when the
translative case is incorporated into the verb while the
initial verb is eliminated.
For example:
1. (a) Gabe tubu ma roha laho manggurithon deba
sian torsa-torsa i muse tubu ku na gabe metmet
on. (So, there arises the desire to inscribe some of
the torsas again into this small book.) (THH: x)
(b) Gabe tubu ma roha laho manggurithon deba
sian torsa-torsa i muse tubu ku na marmetmet on.
(So, a desire arises to inscribe some of the torsas
again to this diminished book.) (THH: x)
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International Journal of English, Literature and Social Sciences (IJELS) Vol-4, Issue-6, Nov – Dec 2019
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The verb 'marmetmet' in Toba Bataknese or
'mengecil' in Indonesian in sentence (b) contains the
meaning of 'gabe metmet' in Toba Bataknese or 'menjadi
kecil' in Indonesian as in sentence (a), and this is a
translative incorporation process.
4.1.5 State Incorporation
By state case we mean a case that states the
situation of the objective and experiencer cases. State
incorporation occurs when the case incorporates with the
verb and replaces the position of the verbalized verb when
the initial verb is eliminated.
Example:
1. (a) Sae gabe teme ma ibana tu anak na i alana
malena. (So, he became angry with his child
because of his hunger.) (THH: 84)
(b) Sae paneme-nemeon ma ibana tu anak na i
Alana malena. (So he was angry with his child
because of his hunger.) (THH: 84)
The verb 'paneme-nemeon' in Toba Bataknese or
'marah-marahlah' in Indonesian in sentence (b) contains
the meaning 'gabe teme' in Toba Bataknese or 'jadi
marahlah' in Indonesian as in sentence (a), and it belongs
to state incorporation process.
[3] Jehane, Hendrikus. 1996. Inkorporasi dengan Pelesapan
Verba dalam Bahasa Indonesia. Denpasar: Linguistika
Universitas Udayana.
[4] Keraf, Gorys. 1990. Linguistik Bandingan Tipologis.
Jakarta: Gramedia.
[5] Kridalaksana, Harimurti. 1988. Perpaduan Leksem dalam
Bahasa Indonesia. Yogyakarta. Kanisius.
[6] -----------. 1992. Pembentukan kata dalam Bahasa
Indonesia. Jakarta: Gramedia.
[7] Kusuma, Deli. 2014. Inkorporasi dengan pelesapan verba
dalam bahasa Mandailing. Telangkai Bahasa dan Sastra.
April 2014, 40-50. Program Studi Linguistik USU
[8] Labov, William.1994. Principles of Linguistic Change.
Volume I. Blackwell.
[9] Mulyono (2013) Gejala Inkorporasi Pada Bahasa Media
Cetak. In: International Seminar Language Maintenance
and Shift III. ISSN: 2088-6799, 2-3 Juli 2013, Hotel
Pandanaran Semarang.
[10] Parera, Jos Daniel. 1993. Sintaksis. Jakarta: Gramedia.
[11] Spencer, Edrew. 1993. Morphological Theory. Cambridge:
Blackwell.

V. CONCLUSION
From the whole discussion of the Toba Bataknese
cases above, typologically the Toba Bataknese language is
not polysynthetic or incorporative, but it has incorporation
forms. The Toba Bataknese incorporation forms are
apparently quite broad and varied and are almost the same
as the Indonesian ones. They can also be applied clearly
without changing the meaning of each incorporation. One
of the incorporation forms or types is incorporation with
verb deletion which occurs because one of the cases
incorporates into a verb after verbalization; as a result, the
initial verb is eliminated. The types of incorporation with
verb deletion based on the incorporating cases are:
objective, instrumental, locative, factual, translative, and
state incorporation. The process of incorporation with verb
deletion occurs because the case incorporates with verb
and experiences absorption because its function is replaced
by the incorporating case. The case is verbalized with a
verb affix, then the incorporation process results in
changes in syntactic valence and in syntactic construction.

REFERENCES
[1] Baker, Mark. C. 1987. Incorporation, A Theory of
Grammatical Function Changing. Chicago and London:
The University of Chicago Press.
[2] Fillmore, Charles J. 1988. The Case for Case. In Universals
in Linguistic Theory. Eds. Emmon Bach and
Robert T. Harms.

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